1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates in general to a charge-or-start system and an electric vehicle applying the same.
2. Background
Due to the growing awareness of environmental protection, electric vehicles have attracted more and more attention from vehicle manufacturers and consumers. One kind of electric vehicle is purely charged by an external power source (such as the utility power) through an on-board charger of the electric vehicle. The electric vehicle has the advantage of zero air pollution but is disadvantaged by a short travel distance due to the limited battery capacity.
One of the prior electric vehicles is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,765 entitled “Electric Scooter with On-Board Charging System”. The prior art technology discloses a plug-in electric vehicle which charges its battery unit by an on-board charger and an on-car electric source (such as a fuel cell) and can further re-charge the battery unit with feedback of energy generated during braking. Let the prior on-car charging system be taken for example. External power source supplies power to the on-board charger for charging the battery unit. The on-car electric source also supplies power to a DC-DC converter for charging the battery unit. Then, the battery unit provides the drive power to the motor.
According to the prior technology, each of the external power source and the on-car electric source needs a respective independent circuit and a respective converter for connecting the external power source or the on-car electric source to the battery unit. That is, the prior technology needs two sets of independent circuit and two sets of converter. This is because in the prior art, the on-board charger has to be located between the external power source and the battery unit; and the DC-DC converter has to be located between the on-car electric source and the battery unit. Further, if the on-car electric source of the prior technology includes a start motor and an engine generator, then an extra set of independent circuit is required to activate the start motor of the on-car electric source.
Besides, other types of hybrid electric vehicles are already available in the market. In general, the hybrid electric vehicle is classified as serial-type and parallel-type. In the serial-type hybrid electric vehicle, the motor provides the vehicle with driving force and the electric power of the motor is provided by a battery or an engine. In the parallel-type hybrid electric vehicle, both the motor and the engine provide driving force to the driving wheel.
Another prior technology is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,126 entitled “Drive Force Control for Hybrid Electric Vehicle”. Engine outputs a rotation torque; a first motor is connected to the engine (the first motor can generate power by the engine torque) and a second motor provides driving torque for driving the vehicle. A power storage device connects the first motor and the second motor. Under control of a controller, the power storage device provides power to the second motor, and provides residual electric power to the first motor for speeding the engine. The first motor is a generator/motor. However, the prior technology does not utilize the external power source to charge the power storage device.
Recently, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is developed. The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle has an on-board charger and a start/generator. Control of the on-board charger and the start/generator needs respective independent control circuits. The prior technology does not integrate controllers of the on-board charger and the start/generator into an integrated charge-or-start system. That is, the prior technology cannot integrate controllers of the on-board charger and the start/generator into one integrated device.